Hectoring at Vino's

More acts coming through town for South by Southwest.

You've reached your article limit

Subscribe now to continue reading the Arkansas Times

We popped in “Cry About It,” the title of local art-punk-literate-rock Hector Faceplant’s new CD, to give it a test run at a domino/beer joint populated by old timers. Their cries to “turn that s••• off!” would probably delight members of Hector Faceplant, which consists of Sulac (guitarist formerly of Widowpaw), Liz Carroll (bassist) and Jason Thompson (drums). The group will be releasing the CD at Vino’s Brewpub on Friday, March 17.

Their music is not, obviously, for most senior citizens, but we liked it — Sulac and Carroll take turns on vocals for a few songs, and we enjoyed the dichotomy between the two — Sulac adopting a sort of trickster, manic persona, and Carroll giving a more centered, melodic voice with big, round bass notes, with Thompson backing it all up.

Friday’s all-ages show will start off at 8:30 p.m. with San Antokyo and Clicking Beetle Bad Omen Band. Admission is $5.

Any head worth his metal will want to catch extreme Swedish death band Opeth, performing Saturday, March 18, at Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom. The places listed on the group’s tour dates are a testament to its worldwide fan base: Athens, Tel Aviv, Vienna and Mexico City, to name a few. The band’s sound is highlighted by Mikael Aferfeldt’s growling, guttural vocals — truly a must-hear for metal fans of dark, doomsday-style extreme metal compositions. The rest of Opeth’s lineup is Peter Lindgren, Martin Lopez, Martin Mendez and Per Wiberg.

Devildriver and DarkTranquility provide support for the show that starts at 8:30 p.m. Admission is $18.

2nd Street Cafe will have Irish-inspired bluegrass with headliners Raymond and Sue Creasy on Friday, March 17. The duo has been together for 11 years and has six CDs, the latest called “Mountain Serenity.” Jeff Jenkins, a mountain dulcimer artist, will open at 7:15 p.m.

Admission is $6 for adults and $3 for children. The show is non-smoking and alcohol-free at the Second Baptist Church, Eighth and Cumberland streets.

Scott Diffee, the former lead guitarist and singer of Go Fast, hasn’t gone anywhere: He’s actually going acoustic and solo, with a gig booked on Tuesday, March 21, at the Afterthought.

We spoke with Diffee briefly and he says he has been influenced by blues artists such as John Lee Hooker. The show will start at 8 p.m.

We also ran into former Go Fast bassist Matt Floyd, and he is also working on a new band, but he remained mysterious about the particulars.

More bands will be stopping in Arkansas over the next few days en route to or returning from the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas:

• The Public Theater, at 616 Center St, is opening its doors to more than just plays and local improv. Post-punk-goth-dance act Kudu, out of New York, is scheduled for Saturday, March 18. Elliot Lipp, a master electronica hip-hop keyboard artist, also will appear with local female rapper Xxzotic. Doors open at 9:30 p.m., and admission is $5.

• Sticky Fingerz will feature the Loft and Bang Bang Bang on Thursday, March 16 ($5, 10 p.m.). Texas storytelling songwriter and Americana artist Hayes Carll, a Hendrix College graduate who pops in locally every so often, appears Friday, March 17, with opening act Something for the House ($10, 10 p.m.). Blue-collar rocker Will Hoge (who has just released “The Man Who Killed Love”) will perform with the Trews on Saturday, March 18 (9:30 p.m., $8).

• Juanita’s SXSW visitors start with Long Island emo band Straylight Run on Monday, March 20. Also appearing will be the Spill Canvas and the Exit. The 7:30 p.m. show is all ages and tickets are $12.

And look for Houston’s Blue October to return to Juanita’s on Wednesday, March 22. The band hasn’t had a studio album in three years, but will be releasing its newest, “Foiled,” on April 14. It’s said by some critics that vocalist/frontman Justin Furstenfeld straddles the line between genius and insanity, and fans of the group are quite rabid. People in Planes, which is on the Wind-Up Records label with Evanescence and Seether, will open the show at 9 p.m. Admission is $17.

Haynes’ blues group Govt. Mule, Little River Band, Honeytribe are in town.

Country rockers try to replicate their Lone Star state success.

Local rap collective Conduit celebrates the release of its latest compilation album, “Theme Muzik,” with an expanded version of its regular concert series “The Chill” at the Revolution Music Room on Friday.